International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants

Principles

• Botanical nomenclature is independent of zoological, bacteriological, and viral nomenclature (see Nomenclature codes).
• A botanical name is fixed to a taxon by a type. This is almost invariably dried plant material and is usually deposited and preserved in a herbarium, although it may also be an image or a preserved culture. Some type collections can be viewed online at the websites of the herbaria in question.
• A guiding principle in botanical nomenclature is priority, the first publication of a name for a taxon. The formal starting date for purposes of priority is 1 May 1753, the publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus. However, to avoid undesirable (destabilizing) effects of strict enforcement of priority, conservation of family, genus, and species names is possible.
• The intent of the Code is that each taxonomic group ("taxon", plural "taxa") of plants has only one correct name that is accepted worldwide, provided that it has the same circumscription, position and rank. The value of a scientific name is that it is an identifier; it is not necessarily of descriptive value.
• Names of taxa are treated as Latin.
• The rules of nomenclature are retroactive unless there is an explicit statement that this does not apply.

History

Main article: International Botanical Congress

The rules governing botanical nomenclature have a long and tumultuous history, dating back to dissatisfaction with rules that were established in 1843 to govern zoological nomenclature. The first set of international rules was the Lois de la nomenclature botanique ("Laws of botanical nomenclature") that was adopted as the "best guide to follow for botanical nomenclature" Unlike modern Codes, it contained recommendations for naming to serve as the basis for discussions on the controversial points of nomenclature, rather than obligatory rules for validly published and legitimate names within the Code. It was organized as six sections with 68 articles in total.

Multiple attempts to bring more "expedient" or more equitable practice to botanical nomenclature resulted in several competing codes, which finally reached a compromise with the 1930 congress. In the meantime, the second edition of the international rules followed the Vienna congress in 1905. These rules were published as the Règles internationales de la Nomenclature botanique adoptées par le Congrès International de Botanique de Vienne 1905 (or in English, International rules of Botanical Nomenclature adopted by the International Botanical Conference of Vienna 1905). Informally they are referred to as the Vienna Rules (not to be confused with the Vienna Code of 2006).

Some but not all subsequent meetings of the International Botanical Congress have produced revised versions of these Rules, later called the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, and then International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.

The Nomenclature Section of the 18th International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, Australia (2011) made major changes:

• The Code now permits electronic-only publication of names of new taxa; no longer will it be a requirement to deposit some paper copies in libraries.
• The requirement for a Latin validating diagnosis or description was changed to allow either English or Latin for these essential components of the publication of a new name (Article 39).
• "One fungus, one name" and "one fossil, one name" are important changes; the concepts of anamorph and teleomorph (for fungi) and morphotaxa (for fossils) have been eliminated.
• As an experiment with "registration of names", new fungal descriptions require the use of an identifier from "a recognized repository"; there are three recognized repositories, Index Fungorum, MycoBank, and Fungal Names.

Versions

All the versions are listed below.

References

References

1. (2018). "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) adopted by the Nineteenth International Botanical Congress Shenzhen, China, July 2017". International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
2. (2012). "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011". International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
3. "Preface 2018".
4. (2018). "Shenzhen Code". Taxon.
5. (2019-12-27). "Chapter F of the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' as approved by the 11th International Mycological Congress, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 2018". BioMed Central Ltd, part of Springer Nature.
6. "''International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants''. 2025 Edition, ''Madrid Code''". The University of Chicago Press.
7. "IAPT {{!}} International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants".
8. Nicolson, D.H.. (1991). "A History of Botanical Nomenclature". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
9. Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle. (1867). "Lois de la nomenclature botanique adoptées par le Congrès International de Botanique tenu à Paris en août 1867 suivies d'une deuxième édition de l'introduction historique et du commentaire qui accompagnaient la rédaction préparatoire présentée au congrès". J.-B. Baillière et fils.
10. Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle. (1868). "Laws of Botanical Nomenclature adopted by the International Botanical Congress held at Paris in August 1867; together with an Historical Introduction and Commentary by Alphonse de Candolle, Translated from the French". L. Reeve and Co.
11. (2011). "Outcomes of the 2011 Botanical Nomenclature Section at the XVIII International Botanical Congress". PhytoKeys.
12. John McNeill, 2011. Important decisions of the Nomenclature Section of the XVIII International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, 18–22 July 2011. ''Botanical Electronic News'', {{ISSN. 1188-603X, [http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben441.html 441] {{Webarchive. link. (2021-05-12)
13. [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/culturing-science/2011/12/28/botanists-finally-ditch-latin-and-paper-enter-21st-century/ Botanists finally ditch Latin and paper, enter 21st century] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-12-29 , Hannah Waters, Scientific American blog, December 28, 2011)
14. "Index Fungorum Registration".
15. (2013). "MycoBank, Index Fungorum, and Fungal Names recommended as official nomenclatural repositories for 2013". IMA Fungus.
16. (2023). "Fungal Names: a comprehensive nomenclatural repository and knowledge base for fungal taxonomy". Nucleic Acids Research.